Investment Q&A

Q: Wondering if any one can answer question. In my tax package I received a foreign property list which had Brookfield Renewable BEP.UN listed in it.
I can't figure this out as I bought this on the TSX. None of my other Brookfield holdings were on the list. Hoping someone can solve the mystery.

Q: Please explain the mer for hxt and the tax treatment on accumulating dividends.

Q: I think you answered this kind of question before. If so, my apologies.
ENB (as an example) is a Canadian stock also trading on NYSE. If, in a taxable account, I journal the shares over to to the US$ side, will the dividend be taxed as interest income, or as US$ dividend (i.e. no dividend tax credit)?
Thank you
jerry mencl

Q: Hi,
Could you please explain how the dividend tax credit works in a registered account compared to a non registered and corporate account. Is dividend still considered income in all of the above accounts?

Q: I would like to transfer in kind a stock position ( presently down 4%) from a joint non registered account to my wife TFSA. Does the 30 day rule apply in this exercise?
Thank you as always.

Q: Can I transfer stock from my CASH a/c to a TFSA a/c WITHOUT having to SELL it first in the Cash a/c and then BUY it back in the TFSA a/c? Obviously, I don't want to incur Cap Gains on a stock this is up 200%.
Many Thanks!

Q: I am uncertain regarding calculating acb when,say, a husband and wife own the same stock in different taxable accounts. Is it required to calculate acb from both husband and wife's account, or from each account individually? Sorry to trouble you with such an elementary question. But, I did a Google search and didn't find anything.

Q: A while back, I bought some shares of Shopify that were trading in the US stock market. Last December, sold them for a nice profit. I'm presently preparing my income tax returns including form T1135 in which I must declare all foreign shares held in 2020, along with any capital gains/losses resulting from the sale of said shares. Given that Shopify domiciled in Canada but trades in both Canada and the US, should I declare the holding as well as the capital gains that resulted from its sale? Robert

Q: This question is about transferring a Canadian stock traded on the TSX that pays dividends in US dollars, like TFII might be doing, to the US dollar side of the trading account and as such, holding the dividends in US dollars rather than the US dollar dividends being translated to Canadian dollars by the broker.

For example, is there a fee or charge to do this transfer? Is there a foreign exchange exchange charge? And when the Canadian stock is to be sold on the TSX, is there a foreign exchange gain or loss?

Any assistance like a link to better understand the ins and outs of this transfer maneuver and the cost implications, if any, would be helpful to me.........Thanks.....Tom 

Q: Looking for some sage 5i advice,,. ! own warrants that have yielded a good return and want to continue to own BRAGG shares. Accordingly, from a capital gain (tax) perspective is it better to exercise the warrant to own the shares OR sell the warrants, trigger the capital gain then buy the shares? When is the capital gain recognised if I roll the warrants into shares? Finally, how do I redeem the warrants for shares on TD WebBroker?

Q: Just to confirm please if dividends of Canadian companies listed on TMX and US - NYSE have a favourable tax treatment in Canada?
Do the dividends face US tax when flowing from US listing?
Thank you
Miroslaw

Q: Question regarding investing in a US dollar TFSA. Are returns taxable in any way? And if so are these deduction at source before generating into the tfsa? If there are consequences, what is best inside the US tfsa, dividends or capital gains. Deduct as needed

Q: My understanding (misunderstanding?) is that MLPs are subject to very high withholding taxes when held by Canadians. From some comments on MLPs I've seen in the past, I had the impresssion that its not always possible to determine the cost of the fees.
1. Does the fact that AMZA is an ETF of MLPs (rather than an MLP itself) change any of this?
2. Is the withholding a fixed percent of the distribution or does it vary based on the make up of the distribution?
3. Is there an account type that would be better or worse to hold this ETF?

Thanks,

Q: Hi, I realize you are not tax experts but wonder if you could help. I sold short XSP ETF in 2020 and have some net realized losses to report. I have heard that CRA requires G/Ls on short sale as income not realized gains. Is this correct and on what line of my return would I report it. Thanks.

Q: In answer to Bruce on Jan 7 you said:
In an RRSP, we would prefer to hold US-listed ETFs due to withholding taxes on US dividends being exempt (not the case with CDN-listed ETFs).

This would mean that ZWK/CALL is not as efficient as it could be. Is there an equivalent US listed ETF that you would recommend? I am looking for an ETF that would let me drip the dividends. From your other answers I believe this type of ETF would be good in 2021: flat or slowly rising market.

Q: A few questions re best index ETFs for safety, total return and tax efficiency:
(1) S&P/TSX 60 (unregistered account): Is XIU, XIC or another ETF better?
(2) S&P 500 (RRSP/TFSA): What CAN listed ETF is best for long hold: ZSP, XSP or other ETF? If held in an RRSP (ie US dividend tax except), can you recommend the best US listed ETF for the S&P 500?
(3) NASDAQ 100 (RRSP/TFSA): What CAN listed ETF is best: ZNQ, ZQQ or another ETF? Is QQQ the best US listed?
(4) Ex-North America index (RRSP): Can you list the best CAN listed ETF index fund? Would you stick with large caps or all? XEF? VIU?
(5) Emerging market index ETFs (RRSP): ZEM, VEE or other?
(6) MISC: Has HXT, HXS and HXQ permanently resolved gov't issues and are these ETFs safe for long term hold?
Thank you!!

Q: Thanks for all your good advice.
I have set up In Trust Accounts for my grandchildren invested equally in HXS and HXT - to avoid tax implications to me. However, due to the swap change introduced Nov 2019 and effective in 2020 - I have been issued T5008 slips seemingly indicating capital gains as a result of the swaps. Is this just for record purposes or is there a need to account for this at tax time?
Thanks

Q: I want to hold IWO and SPY etf's, I am a canadian resident.
Are there any tax, exchange rate implications for me in holding these ( or any other US stocks )?

If yes, then suggest a equivalent Canadian ETF.

Q: in TFSA account, what is the tax implication if buying Canadian listed EFT investing in US listed stocks? is there any witholding tax ?

Q: Hi Team,
Previously (I believe it was sometime in 2020) in your answer to questions on US estate tax payable by Canadians, it was pointed out that the threshold for US estate tax is US$11.2M (to be reduced to US$4 or 5M in 2023?), meaning no US estate tax is payable if value of world-wide assets is under US$11.2M. Amounts in excess of this threshold is subject to US estate tax with some credits allowed as per the Canada-US tax treaty.
Please confirm if your previous statement regarding US estate tax is still applicable.
Cheers,